Search - WWE - Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story on DVD

Terrible Documentary...EXCELLENT Extras!

Movie Fan | 11/14/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First, I want to say that Roddy Piper is the reason why I'm a wrestling fan today.

With that said, I'm very disappointed with this DVD set. The extras, which I'll get to

in a minute, are tremendous and it's worth buying this DVD set for them alone, but

the documentary is easily the WORST ever produced by WWE. This documentary makes the

Dusty Rhodes documentary look like pure truth. I was hoping to learn a great deal about Piper,

his days in Portland Wrestling, his legendary feud with Ric Flair over the NWA United States

Title and the truth surrounding his most controversial moments in wrestling. Instead, I get

a documentary that offers no new info that I haven't already heard or read about, and it's almost

entirely presented in kayfabe!?

It's insulting as a fan that Piper and his opponents expect us to believe that they never really

knew how the angles and matches were going to turn out and that they just unfolded. Come on!

For example, both Piper and Snuka talk about their famous Piper's Pit segment as if it were a shoot.

Most WWE documentaries do this from one degree to another, but this is the first that has done it

for nearly the entire feature. Very disappointing. Also, Piper was at his BEST during his stint in Portland

Wrestling and the NWA, but if you blink you'll miss the part about Portland and they only talk about

Piper's Dog Collar match with Greg Valentine from the first Starrcade when talking about his time in

the NWA. Piper came into the NWA and was so hot at the time that he quickly feuded with

Ric Flair and they traded the NWA United States Title! No clips of these matches are even shown or

talked about. Also, speaking of Portland Wrestling, they didn't even show Piper's infamous beer bottle

promo, where he slammed a real and sealed beer bottle into his forehead. The bottle explodes sending

beer and glass everywhere, as he proceeds to cut a promo on the Sheepherders, blood pours out of his head.

THAT is the "Rowdy" Roddy Piper I remember, but all we get here is the watered down kids version of Piper

that we saw in the WWF.



However, with that said, I must say that the extras save this DVD set and the extras are tremendous!

I would have loved to see more Portland and Mid-Atlantic matches, but they did include some

classic moments here. Plus, they included some rare Piper matches from Saturday Night's Main Event

which was a show were Piper really shined during his WWF stint. If that wasn't enough, the WWE has

devoted the third DVD in this set to Piper's Pit! That's right, disc 3 is nothing but the BEST of Piper's

Pit from the WWF and later the WWE. Here's the full rundown of the DVD and the extras...



Disc One:

1. The Documentary

2. Piper Stories - 12 in all!

3. Roddy Piper & Mike Popovich vs. Buddy Rose & Rip Oliver - Portland Wrestling

4. Roddy Piper vs. Buddy Rose Northwest Heavyweight Title - Portland Wrestling

5. Roddy Piper vs. Jack Brisco - Mid - Atlantic Heavyweight Title (Piper's promo after

this match is classic!!!!)

6. Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine - Dog Collar match for the NWA US Title Starrcade '83



Disc Two:

1. Roddy Piper & Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan & Mr.T - WrestleMania I

2. Roddy Piper vs. Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff - Saturday Night's Main Event (this was a

great brawl for the time)

3. Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T - Boxing Match from WrestleMania II, easily one of the worst

blunders in WWE history, they even admit it on the DVD. Why it's on here is a mystery.

4. Roddy Piper vs. The Iron Shiek - Saturday Night's Main Event. This is Piper's babyface

turn in WWF

5. Roddy Piper vs. "Cowboy" Bob Orton - Saturday Night's Main Event

6. Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis - WrestleMania III

7. Roddy piper vs. Hulk Hogan - MTV's "War to Settle the Score"

8. Roddy Piper vs. Rick Rude - Steel Cage Match from Madison Square Garden

I'm so pleased to see this match here, it's surprisingly good.

9. Roddy piper vs. Bad News Brown - WrestleMania VI

10. Roddy Piper vs. Bret "Hit Man" Hart - IC Title match from WrestleMania VIII

Bret carried Piper to his best wrestling match ever

11. Roddy Piper vs. The Mountie - IC Title Match from the Royal Rumble '92

12. Roddy Piper vs. Goldust - Hollywood Back Lot Brawl from WrestleMania XII

13. Roddy Piper vs. Hollywood Hogan - Starrcade '96



Disc Three:

Piper's Pit, the guests are...

1. Robert Debord

2. Andre the Giant

3. Frank Williams

4. The Haiti Kid

5. Jesse Ventura, Hulk Hogan & Andre the Giant

6. Jimmy Snuka

7. Mr. T, Hulk Hogan & Jimmy Snuka

8. Salvatore Bellomo & Junkyard Dog

9. Paul Orndorff

10. Bruno Sammartino

11. Jimmy Hart

12. Harley Race & Bobby Heenan

13. Hulk Hogan & WWF Executives

14. Hulk Hogan

15. Piper's last Pit before WrestleMania III (one of the best)

16. Brother Love & Morton Downey - WrestleMania V

17. Vince McMahon & Rikishi

18. Jimmy Snuka - 2003

19. Mr.America

20. Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri

21. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - WrestleMania XXI

22. Shawn Michaels

23. Mick Foley, Randy & Bob Orton

24. The Great Khali

Not a bad selection of Pits, my only gripes are that they didn't show the rest of

TNT after the Snuka Pit where Piper slapped the hell out of Lord Alfred Hayes and

there are no Pits involving the Pit vs. The Flower Shop feud. Otherwise, these were

the best Pits.



There you have it, like I said, the extras really make this release. If the documentary

had been better, this would easily be a 5 star release, but any "Rowdy" Roddy Piper

fan, like myself, will still love this release regardless.

One more comment... fans will be glad to know that Jesse Ventura's commentary

during the Saturday Night's Main Event matches is intact and has not been edited out."

Disappointing DVD set for an I.C.O.N.

D.P. | California | 11/15/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Without a doubt, one of the biggest icons in this business and one of the biggest originators in the business. Before Jake Roberts' Snake Pit, Carlito's Cabana, Jericho's Highlight Reel, The Brother Love Show...the original was Piper's Pit. Before wrestlers did movies...he starred in "They Live". I could go into more but I think you get the point. Roddy Piper was an innovator in this business and one of the men who just knew how to hold the crowd into the palm of his hand. With new comments from Piper along with some old clips (ala Wrestlers Of 80's DVD) along with comments from such performers as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jim Ross, Cowboy Bob & Randy Orton amongst others. Bottom line, "The Boss Is Back"...on DVD. And I just also happened to get the special 4 disc set from Circuit City with extra Piper's Pits as well.



The documentry stars out with Roddy growing up in different cities all over the world & leaving home at the age of 13 and breaking into wrestling with his first match with Larry Hennig (Mr. Perfect's dad) that set a record that Roddy still brags about to this day. His travel from different wrestling territories including a territory in Mexico that saw a fued he had with Chavo Guerrero Sr. (Chavo Classic) that resulted in his first major wrestling fued is shown. Roddy Piper's first big break in Portland Wrestling is covered. Piper & others talk about his time in NWA Mid-Alantic wrestling that started his relationship with Ric Flair and the brutial Starrcade '83 Dog Collar match against Greg Valentine which resulted in 50% of his hearing damaged. Piper's venture into the WWF and the story behind him being a manager for a while is talked about next along complete with stories of his relationship with Cowboy Bob Orton, Mr. T, WrestleMania, and his greatest contribution to professional wrestling...Piper's Pit.. The story behind his retirement match at WrestleMania III and his acting role in "They Live" are talked about before his return to WWF two years later. The main fued talked about here was his fued with Bad News Brown and the discussion turned into Roddy Piper painting himself half black...which was never really answered. His run as a color commentator & the Intercontinental title run and his WrestleMania VIII match with Bret Hart are discussed before Piper's family talks about him being a family man. Piper's return at WrestleMania X, his fued against Jerry Lawler that resulted in a bad match to the point where Lawler or Piper didn't want to discuss it, and what O.J. Simpson had to do with the Roddy Piper vs. Goldust fued. His 3 year run in WCW was reduced to just the "icon vs. icon" fued between himself & Hogan in the Starrcade '96 match. His return to WWE (for the 3rd time now) in 2003 was discussed & how he really felt about his run & how Piper's Pit was being treated. The controversal HBO interview with Piper that resulted in his release is heavily talked. Piper's induction into the Hall Of Fame and talk his guest appearences in WWE with Piper's Pit close out this documentry. The only negative I can say about this part was that they tried to mix reality with "kayfaye" so it hurts it like it did with previous DVD's like Rey Mysterio's years ago.



DVD extras include interview outtakes from Piper talking about such things as him sharing on-camera moments with his son Colt, his feelings about the "coconut" angle with Rikishi, more talk about Mr. T, how a rib involving two other wrestlers resulted in Harley Race almost shooting one of them, and how WM21 showed he was a man of his word. Other interview outtakes include Bruce Prichard (Brother Love) talking about his first meeting with Roddy Piper and both Mick Foley & Randy Orton talked about Piper giving back to the business.



Matches Include:

Dog Collar Match vs. Greg Valentine - This was one of the most violent matches for it's time to the point where Piper perminately lost a percentage of hearing in his ear from it bleeding throughout the match. The violence here shows why you rarely see this type of match to this day.

NWA Starrcade '83

("Starrcade: The Essential Collection" & "Greatest Wrestling Stars Of The 80's")



vs. WWE Champion Hulk Hogan - This was the match to set up the WrestleMania main event as it was just a non-stop brawl with people getting into it left & right. I honestly love this match because I'm such a fan of Roddy Piper & the heat he could draw from a crowd. It wasn't Hogan doing his usual stuff so it was interesting to see.

The War To Settle The Score '85

("Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology" & "Greatest Wrestling Stars Of The 80's")



w/Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T - The night & match that put sports entertainment on the map. Everyone does a great job making Mr. T look better than he actually was and just knew how to mix brawling & wrestling to make a good match to watch.

WrestleMania

("Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology")



vs. Paul Orndorff - Piper always seemed to have a grand entrance around this time but that's all that was grand here as Jesse Ventura described this match perfectly, "This is just a street fight with ropes around it." You could count the number of wrestling moves on one hand as from start to finish. This got so out of control that it went from in the ring to ringside to under the announce booth all the way to the backstage area with everyone getting out the way.

"Saturday Night's Main Event" Oct. '85

("Best Of Saturday Night's Main Event")



Boxing Match vs. Mr. T - On this DVD set, Roddy called this match the worst one of his life and it certainly came off like that because there wasn't anything entertaining about this & T looked like he was out of shape. The only noteworthy thing here was how the crowd turned in T & started chanting for Piper.

WrestleMania 2



vs. Iron Sheik - This was a pretty short & sweet squash for Piper.

"Saturday Night's Main Event" Oct. '86



vs. Bob Orton - Piper going one on one against his one time best friend & former bodyguard. This is another match that was pretty short & was good for what it was.

"Saturday Night's Main Event" Nov. '86

("Legends Of Wrestling: Roddy Piper & Terry Funk")



Hair Match vs. Adrian Adonis - This was Roddy's "retirement" match that was very entertaining (with Jimmy Hart only adding to the match) and featured so many memorable moments such as Roddy's memorable walk to the ring, Adrian losing his hair, and the birth of Brutus "THE BARBER" Beefcake.

WrestleMania III

("Legends Of Wrestling: Roddy Piper & Terry Funk")



Steel Cage Match vs. Rick Rude - This was one of those cage matches where you can win by either pinfall/submisson or leaving the cage. This wasn't a bloody massacre but was definately a good match that had the cage used as a weapon various time & also had some moves be more impactful like Rick Rude doing a flying forearm drop off the top at one point & also had some comedic moments like Piper "making an ass" out of Rick Rude.

"MSG" Dec. '89

("Legends Of Wrestling: Roddy Piper & Terry Funk")



vs. Bad News Brown - Jesse Ventura described this match perfectly, "a street brawl." That's all they did here was just brawl against each other to the point where the referee tried to keep control but it just wasn't possible. However, this match was more memorable than anything else for Roddy Piper painting his body half black.

WrestleMania VI



vs. Intercontinental Champion The Mountie - This was a unique situation as Roddy Piper replaced Bret Hart who earlier in the week lost the title to The Mountie and with the winner of the Royal Rumble becoming the WWE Champion, Roddy is the first man to have the opportunity to win both singles titles in one night. This was typical Piper in that it started out with a bang and didn't stop with a few comedic moments from Jimmy Hart along with The Mountie eventually getting a taste of his own medicine before Roddy wins his first championship in WWE history.

Royal Rumble '91



Intercontinental Championship Match vs. Bret Hart - This was the most unique match you've seen from Roddy Piper in his entire WWE career as he took a different approach with Bret than he did with anyone else and actually wrestled instead of brawled. Piper told a great story about between conflicted by either breaking the rules or playing it straight while Bret did what he could to regain his title back. This was without a doubt Roddy's best WRESTLING match in his WWE career (maybe even outside of that) with Bret even heavily bleeding at one point.

WrestleMania VIII



Hollywood Backlot Brawl Match vs. Goldust - This match was exactly what the name suggested, it was a brawl. They started out in a backlot complete with baseball bats & firehoses & a gold cadillac & a white Bronco (with arial footage that I swore I've seen before...LOL!) and ended in the arena complete with taped fist and Goldust crossing the line resulting in Roddy going "Rowdy" & inflicting pain on Goldust in a way that made every man in the building hurt.

WrestleMania XII



vs. Hollywood Hogan - This was different than their past WWF matches in that they did a great job of actually wrestling here instead of just wild fighting & brawling. This was one of both men's best matches in their WCW career...and the last good quality Starrcade main event that lived up to the hype it had.

WCW Starrcade '96

("Starrcade: The Essential Collection")



Other matches include a singles & tag match against Buddy Rose from Portland Wrestling & a Mid-Atlantic Championship match against Jack Brisco. The last disc is completely full of Piper's Pit. This was really the biggest negative about the DVD because it ends the DVD set on a bad note because eventhough the Pit's start off great & were classics in comedy & drama...all the ones from his return in '03 & afterwards (8 total) were just horrible to the point to where Piper said that he thought they were tryin' to bury & kill it on purpose during the documentry. It wasn't the same type of Piper's Pit that they were back in the 80's as they all end with Piper getting either beat down or putting over a wrestler/storyline that didn't last long or that fans to this day want to forget. Anyways, these Pit segments include such moments as the Haiti Kid recieving a haircut, the infamous Frank Williams episode, the coconut episode with Jimmy Snuka, Andre The Giant challenging Hogan to the WM3 match, the Mr. T confrontation at MSG, his WM5 return with Brother Love & Morton Downey Jr. (this segment is clipped), and his goodbye speech before WM3. Other Pit's include such guest as Jimmy Hart, King Harley Race & Bobby Heenan, Vince McMahon & Rikishi, Mr. America (starting the Zack Gowen angle), Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri, Stone Cold & Carlito from WM21, Shawn Michaels, The Great Khali, and the RAW Homecoming episode with Randy & Bob Orton along with Mick Foley close out the Piper's Pit disc. If they just had to include some Pit episodes from his last two runs in WWE then I would have included WrestleMania 21, the McMahon episode but eliminate the Rikishi garbage afterwards, and the episode from early 2006 with J.B.L. & the Boogeyman since that was the funniest & most entertaining one since his 2003 return. And also, it wouldn't have been bad if they included the segments from the Flower Shop/Piper's Pit fued as well.



The Circuit City bonus disc isn't much as it only last 10 mins. with 6 extra Piper's Pits featuring Kamala & Kimchee & Wizard, Hillbilly Jim & Uncle Elmer & Jesse Ventura, Mr. Fuji, Boxing Bob Orton & Hulk Hogan, and the debut of Adorable Adrian Adonis.



Overall, the documentry didn't really go into the heavy details of Roddy Piper's career as other DVD's on other wrestlers did (Bret, ECW, Dusty) as they mostly just covered his most memorable moments. The overall match selection was great but they needed a Ric Flair match. And for Roddy Piper to be praised for being such a talker...they don't have any of Piper's promos outside of Piper's Pit. I mean, none of his mic work from the NWA is worthy of a DVD extra? And the extras at the end really knocked it down and seemed like they were just trying to full up space instead of doing his legacy justice like they did with Jake Roberts' DVD. For that alone, I wouldn't call this a five star classic such as I did with DVD sets like Bret Hart & Hulk Hogan but overall, I recommend for any professional wrestling fan but don't get it with high hopes.

"

Don't know if this is official, but....

geneprof | 08/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I found these matches on another site. It looks really good.



The Roddy Piper DVD has a 1 hour and 45 minute documentary on his career and ending with the Hall of Fame Ceremony. Plus bonus matches and Piper's Pit segments on extra DVD.



Bonus Matches include:



Roddy Piper & Mike Popovitch vs. Buddy Rose & Rip Oliver from Portland

Piper vs. Buddy Rose from Portland

Piper vs. Jack Brisco 7/7/82

Piper vs. Greg Valentine dog collar match from the first Starrcade

Piper & Orndorff vs. Hogan & Mr. T from the first Wrestlemania

Piper vs. Mr. T from Wrestlemania II

Piper vs. Iron Sheik from 10/4/86 Saturday Night Main Event

Piper vs. Bob Orton from 11/29/86 Saturday Night Main Event

Piper vs. Adrian Adonis form Wrestlemania III

Piper vs. Hogan MTV special 2/18/85

Piper vs Rick Rude cage match 12/28/89 MSG

Piper vs. Badnews Brown (Badnews Allen) Wrestlemania VI

Piper vs. Bret Hart Wrestlemania VII

Piper vs. Mountie 1992 Royal Rumble

Piper vs. Goldust Hollywood brawl Wrestlemania XII

Piper vs. Hogan 12/29/96 Starrcade



There is also a huge collection of Piper's Pits, including the Frankie Williams one .





"

Silvervision Preview

M. Brown | Ireland | 10/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This three-disc set covers the extensive career of the 'Hot Rod', whose intense rivalry with Hulk Hogan highlighted the infamous War to Settle the Score and the first ever Wrestlemania. Sometimes hated, sometimes loved the 'Rowdy one' never failed to entertain, especially on his revolutionary popular interview segment, Piper's Pit. This DVD set features Piper's unique comments on his childhood, getting into the business at 15, working with Mr. T, wrestling promoters, his movie appearances, working in WCW, his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, and much more. In addition, fellow Superstars Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, 'Cowboy' Bob Orton, Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine, and many more offer their personal takes on the 'Hot Rod'.



This three-disc set is packed with amazing extras including:



More than 20 years of Piper's Pit

A collection of professional wrestling's most unique and entertaining interview segment.



Some of 'Rowdy' Roddy' Piper's greatest matches:



Roddy Piper & Mike Popovich vs. Buddy Rose & Rip Oliver

Portland Wrestling



Northwest Heavyweight Title Match

Roddy Piper vs. Buddy Rose

Portland Wrestling



Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship Match

Roddy Piper vs. Jack Brisco

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling - 07/07/82



Dog Collar Match for the NWA United States Championship

Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine

Starrcade - 24/11/83



Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T

WrestleMania - 31/03/85



Roddy Piper vs. Paul Orndorff

Saturday Night's Main Event - 05/10/85



Boxing Match

Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T

WrestleMania 2 - 07/04/86



Roddy Piper vs. The Iron Sheik

Saturday Night's Main Event - 04/10/86



Roddy Piper vs. Bob Orton

Saturday Night's Main Event - 29/11/86



Hair vs. Hair Match

Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis

WrestleMania III - 29/03/87



Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan

"War to Settle the Score", Madison Square Garden - 18/02/85



Steel Cage Match

Roddy Piper vs. Rick Rude

Madison Square Garden - 28/12/89



Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown

WrestleMania VI - 01/04/90



Intercontinental Championship

Roddy Piper vs. The Mountie

Royal Rumble - 19/01/92



Intercontinental Championship

Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart

WrestleMania VIII - 05/04/92



Hollywood Back Lot Brawl

Roddy Piper vs. Goldust

WrestleMania XII - 31/03/96



Roddy Piper vs. Hollywood Hogan

Starrcade - 29/12/96"